[Anchor]
A group involved in smuggling gold bars worth over 7 billion won from Hong Kong to Japan via South Korea has been apprehended by the police.
They used a method of disguising the gold bars to look like clay by treating them with special chemicals, then carried them on their bodies to deceive customs.
Reporter Yang Dong-hoon reports.
[Reporter]
Folding and pressing…
Although it looks just like clay, this item is actually processed gold.
They melted gold bars purchased in Hong Kong to look like clay and mixed them with special chemicals so that they wouldn’t be detected by metal detectors.
From December 2023, for nine months, 85 kg of gold bars worth 7.4 billion won were purchased by Mr. A, who is in his 40s, and others in Hong Kong.
The purchased gold was smuggled to Japan via South Korea.
They exploited Japan’s customs system, which allows a 10% consumption tax to be paid upon import and refunded upon export.
When entering Japan, they disguised the gold as clay to avoid the consumption tax and converted it back into bar form upon exit, thus receiving a refund of over 700 million won.
[Jang Byung-yong / Team Leader, Criminal Task Force 2, Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency: Entering Japan directly from Hong Kong involves strict searches, whereas Japanese entry by Koreans raises less suspicion, allowing the use of the transit method via Korea.]
They lured acquaintances with offers of a free trip to Japan or money, using them as couriers.
Cooperating with customs, the police arrested all 39 suspects and seized 5.5 kg of gold bars that hadn’t yet been taken to Japan.
A police official warned that agreeing to transport items at the request of acquaintances without suspicion could unknowingly involve one in criminal activities.
This is Yang Dong-hoon from YTN.
Video editing by Oh Hwon-seul.
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